Improvement in surgical splints



UNITED STATES THOMAS H. OURRIE, OF WEBSTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SURGICAL SPLINTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,034, dated March 3l,1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs H. CUREIE, of Webster, in the county ofMerrimack and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Surgical Splints 5 and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebein g had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is a front longitudinal view of asplint constructed according to my invention.

\ Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same at right anglesto Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention consists in certain improvements insplints for the leg,wherebythe necessity for bandages is obviated, greater facility isafforded to the surgeon for reducing the fracture, and a betteropportunity is afforded to compare the broken limb with the sound oneand greater ease is afforded to the patient.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A B and A B are the two sides of the splint, each made of two separatepieces of board, f1tted and connected together in such manner as t3 becapable of extension and contraction in a longitudinal direction. Thetwo upper pieces, A and A', are rigidlyr connected at their backs bymeans of transverse bars a a, and the two lower pieces, B B, aresimilarly connected by means of similar bars, b b. The upper piece A ofthe outer side, A B, is made longer than the corresponding piece, A',ofthe inner side, A B', to enable it to reach up to or above the hip. Inthe upper part of this piece A there are two holes, d d, for thereception of a band or handkerchief, D, which is passed under and overthe thigh, and through the said holes and tied outside, and above thesaid holes d d are two holes, c c, for the passage of a band which lpasses around the body.

E is a screw connected by a pin-joint, @,with a stud, f, which isrigidly secured to the outside of the lower outside piece, B and Fmis anut tted to the said screw and secured in a swivel, G, which isconnected by a pin-joint, g, with a stud, 71 which is rigidly secured tothe outside of the upper outside piece, A.

C is a sacking arranged between the sides A B and A B', and secured tothe front edges thereof by pins i t', with some slackness between thelower ends of A A a nd 1l ppe r ends of B B to permit the extension ofthe sides as far as may be necessary.

D is the footpiece attached to the lower outside piece, B, by means ofan angle-iron, F, which is arranged to move on a pin, j, which issecured in the piece B at a point which comes about opposite to theankle-joint. This movement allows the toe to be more or less elevated ordepressed, and the iron F, when adjusted, is secured by means of aset-screw, 7c, and nut, Z the said set-screw being fitted to move in acurved slot, m. The foot is attached to the lower part of the iron F bymeans of a screw, n, and nut p, the nut being fast in the foot-piece,and the screw passing through a slot, q, in the iron, and this mode ofattachment provides for the movement of the foot-piece bodily toward andfrom the piece B, and for the turning of the toe inward or outward,making, with the upward and downward movements of the toe, provided forby the movement of the iron F on the pin j, six movements, in all ofwhich the foot-piece is capable. The footpiece has slots r 1^ to receivestraps or bands.

The operation of the splint is as follows: After the fractured limb hasbeen laid in the splint upon the sacking C, and the sacking has beenadapted to the form of the leg by means of the pins t' i on each side,the counter-extension at the pelvic bones is provided for by passing aband or handkerchief under and over the thigh, and through the holes d dand tying it, and the splint is secured to the leg by a bandage passedthrough the `holes c c and around the body. The extension at the foot isprovided for by putting adhesive straps about from four to six incheslong on each side of the ankle-joint, with ends put through the slots rr in the foot-piece D to tie under the. said piece. The extending-poweris applied at the knee by the screwE in such manner as to enable thesurgeon to get any desired length of the leg without assistance.

Some of the advantages of this splint are as follows: First, no bandagesare necessary, and hence the circulation is not obstructed, but everyblood-vessel is allowed to perform its own function, and as the musclesare not bound down so much force is not required to reduce the fracture,and, besides, the surgeon has them all under his control, and the Wholelength of' them exposed so that he may act upon them, second, incontused or lacerated What I claim as my invention, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the'sides A B and A' B', each composed of twopieces, the sacking C, the screw E, and the swivel-nut F, the wholearranged to operate substantially as herein speciiied.

2. Gombinin g the foot-piece D With the outer side of the splint bymeans of the slotted angleiron F, the screw a, pin j, and screw k, thewhole applied substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

THOMAS H, CURRIE.

Witnesses:

JosEPH GoUoH, HIEL J. KIMBALL.

